Shark etiquette

[DivingDoc]

Here is a question and poll for those of you who encounter sharks regularly.

Are you afraid of them?? Many tell me that sharks just ignore SCUBA divers, but Shark Week on the Discovery channel went over several instances where SCUBA divers were actually attacked by divers.

Anyway -- answer the polls.

ET

[WreckWriter]

You forgot "go about your business but be aware there's a shark(s) around.

Tom

EDIT- no fair changing the poll question after answers have been posted. Makes me look like an idiot in this case, huh?

For the NEW question, if it's coming you have to fight, at least try. Kick it, whack it with something, shove a deco bottle in it's face, etc.

For those wearing rec rigs that can quickly be removed, hold your unit in front of you as a shield. Sharks hate the taste of tanks :)

Tom

[Rick L]

Pee my wet suit for the very first time:waaaa:

Rick L

[Scubaroo]

erm... panic?

Around here the only sharks we're likely to encounter are Blues or Great Whites. Or pussycat Leopard sharks.

[devilfish]

It's humorous but I hope new divers don't take it too seriously. Neither shark behavior nor the choices of action when a shark is sighted are accurate and don't apply in real world. Peeing in the suit might help.

[Dee]

DivingDoc once bubbled...
....but Shark Week on the Discovery channel went over several instances where SCUBA divers were actually attacked by divers.

Anyway -- answer the polls.

ET

That probably happens more than shark attacks do! :D

Seriously, keep in mind The Discovery Channel needs an audience and one way they try to do get one is with sensationalized shows. If truth were known, the divers that got 'attacked' had probably ignored the sharks warning signals, antagonized the sharks in some way, or even placed themselves in harms way by seaching out the sharks and entising them.... a feeding frenzy comes to mind. Sharks don't usually just attack a diver for no reason. We aren't food to them.

If you are going to dive in an area frequented by sharks, learn their behaviors, feeding times and patterns, etc. and remember you are in their territory.

[boydski]

When diving in an area with a lot of sharks, carry a small briefcase with you. The sharks will leave you alone out of ."Professional courtesy" .

;)

Boydski

[CuriousMe]

I'm by no means a shark expert....I've only seen sharks on two dives (not counting nurse sharks).....but doesn't swimming back to the boat as fast as possible make you look more like prey to the shark?

Don't know what I'd do....I'm guessing wing it....but I know I can't outswim a shark....so fleeing and looking like dinner would probably be my last answer.

[Jack R]

I have seen thousands of sharks all over the world including schooling hammerheads. I have never had any trouble but if I did have trouble, I would just take out my knife and cut my buddy!

I dont have to outswim the shark, I only have to outswim my buddy. ( I know that is an old joke!)

I told that to my wife's mother when she heard we were going to cocos island. She didnt laugh.

Anyway, I have never seen a great white which is about the only shark I am afraid of.

I have heard that a scream may frighten them away. It would be very very odd for a shark to attack a 6' neoprene and metal object. They mostly go for the sick or old.

[landlocked]

Drop the twinkie (or distressed fish) and get out of the way. ;)

[Rick L]

You have to remember that shark sightings are very rare here!!
My first instructor told me I would be lucky to see one(I didn't agree :-) ) I havn't seen a real shark in the water yet. only dogfish
but there was hundreds of them!!
Rick L

[caymaniac]

I was at Little Cayman diving Bloody Bay Wall when my wife who was ahead of me gave me the shark sign. I then saw a 6 ft. black tip come around the corner of the reef and he headed straight at me. I backed up to the wall, my tank hit the wall and he kept on coming. About two feet away I used my camera as a buffer and made the strobe fire. When I did this it was like the shark woke up and spun around to get away. I had been close enough to see his spicules. I think because I was taking pics he was following the sound of my recharging strobe, not using his eye sight. After the shark spun around he did not swim away very fast and I was able to get close enough to take a pic but my batteies were down and the strobe wouldnt fire - no pic!
Stories like this make diving worth it for me.
Dive Safe,
Caymaniac
:D

[DivingDoc]

Jack R once bubbled...
I have seen thousands of sharks all over the world including schooling hammerheads. I have never had any trouble but if I did have trouble, I would just take out my knife and cut my buddy!

I have heard that a scream may frighten them away. It would be very very odd for a shark to attack a 6' neoprene and metal object. They mostly go for the sick or old.

Seriously, since you have great experience here, enlighten us on what shark behaviors to observe/be aware of and what you do to make them ignore you. According to the Discovery Channel, the most dangerous/most aggressive sharks are not Great Whites, but Bull Sharks. Great Whites are second, Tigers third.

I think it was a Bull Shark that took the arm off the little boy in Pensicola, FL last summer, and also a Bull Shark that took the life of a boy in Virginia Beach the same summer.

ET

[WreckWriter]

DivingDoc once bubbled...
According to the Discovery Channel, the most dangerous/most aggressive sharks are not Great Whites, but Bull Sharks. Great Whites are second, Tigers third.

I think that's based on number of attacks. Keep in mind that while whites are rare, tigers uncommon, bulls are downright thick. they're definately dangerous but the stats may be mostly due to how common they are. We saw 4 on one dive last week...

Tom

[Jack R]

I have had a run in with a bull shark in the blue hole in Belize. It got very close but by the time that I got my camera ready it bugged out. I have seen others but never that close. THere are others like silky sharks that have a bad rep too.

You know mostly it is common sense. I have done some stupid things but never had any real issues. I trapped a pregnant white tip under a ledge in order to take her picture. She didnt like it. She put down her pectral fin (dont know if I spelled that right) and I knew to back off.

Sharks just cruising the reef almost never pose a threat. I have been in hundreds of schooling hammerheads but they were so timid that the bubbles scared them away. I got rebreather certified on my way out to cocos so that I could get real close but both the rebreathers on board broke. So I never got to use them.

The scariest was a feeding frenzy of white tips that I witnessed. I knew not to get to close to that one. I think that if I would have gotten bit it would have been an accident.

I may have experiance seeing and diving with sharks but I have no experiance seeing too much aggressive behavior.

I see sharks on almost every dive I make here in Florida but I have done a bunch of diving in micronesia and the red sea and there are tons of sharks there.

[Rick Murchison]

There's a lot of misinformation and disinformation about sharks floating 'round out there...
Aside from feeding (and if you've speared a fish a shark will figure you did it as a favor) situations, most sharks will try to avoid you, and most of the rest will pretty much ignore you... But... Bull sharks are untrustworthy and unreliable. They can become agitated and dangerous for no apparent reason. Signs of agitation are jerky swimming, sudden reversals, arched back and lowered pectorals. If you see this behavior in a Bull shark, it's time to back out of the territory, keeping a close eye on him.
I don't have any experience with Whites or Tigers or Oceanic Whitetips, which I understand shouldn't be trusted either.
Rick

[Tavi]

I try to get a better picture :) .

Each year I try to get a better shark pic.
My first one is still my best one.

Usually Caribean Reef Sharks, I don't care if I ever see a Great White.

[FredT]

Agressive sharks are best handled on a grill!

I heard a report that a group of Bulls in the gulf that have been fed enough they have associated divers with lunch! It's gotten so that they'll bump divers looking for a handout, or a hand. This is about like having a an alaskan brown bear consider you a lunch source. Eventually he won't take NO for an answer and someone gets hurt or dead. I expect these critters won't last year out.

FT

[Dee]

How about posting your favorite shark pic? I would like to see it.

[Tavi]

This was taken on my very first dive with an underwater camera. I've been trying to get a better pic ever since.
There are some others on our website, look around.

http://groups.msn.com/RickandDebsSite/divinggrandbahamaspring2001.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=43

[MissAmberDiva]

Wow - Awesome pic Tavi!
If I was that close to a shark, seriously I don't know what I would do. Probably just be very aware of all my surroundings.
I think I would be more afraid of sea snakes though. I really hate snakes.

[Tavi]

I think I would be more afraid of them too!! ( I don't know if afraid is the right word. I just don't like snakes)

As the shark came towards me, I remember having the thought: what's he gonna do when the flash goes off? :confused: Then I thought: I guess we're gonna find out!! :D

I've been to that site several times. It gets to where it's just cool to be around, and to watch the sharks, (and other divers reactions to them!!)

[Laurence Stein DDS]

I would agree that for unpredicability, bull sharks are up there. However, there are probably more shark attacks by nurse sharks on divers. They are so docile that it is tempting to touch them. There is even one place I lobster where there are always 2 or 3 large nurse sharks in the same hole as the lobster.

Sometimes you have to "tickle" the sharks out. This particular area is made up of a pile of old empty concrete sewer pipe, stacked about 20 feet high. It's dark inside and the corals are open even in the day.

Unfortunately, if you move the shark to get the lobster, sometimes they turn and go out the way you've gone in. I've actually had them swim under me and can feel them slide past. Still have the family jewels. If you've ever had a moray eel swim through your BC it's the same thing. You just stay real still and usually, nothing happens but a rush when it's over.

If you grab a nurse shark and tug it's tail it will turn and bite. It usually locks on. I've tossed little ones into my lobster bag when I was younger and more stupid. It took a screwdriver and a pliers to get the mouth off the bag. When we let it go it turned and nipped the boat.

I've encountered makos while spearfishing and let me tell you, it's the spitting image of a great white except smaller and stubbier. Luckly we looked at each other and swam off in opposite directions.

I've had several bull shark encounters. They are sneaky. They will come up from behind or they will hang at the edge of visibility until they are ready.

My worst encounter was in Bimini. I ran into a 14 foot Great Hammerhead. It was nearly 3 feet from eye to eye. I was right next to the boat spearing fish. I handed the line to my buddy on the boat and he began to pull up the speared fish. The hammerhead started up too--in an aggressive posture. Needless to say, I started to pull the line down into the water to get the fish and shark away from me. My buddy on the boat wanted to know why I was pulling the line INTO the water. Try saying shark through a snorkel!

Then, my buddy offered me...ready for this...a speargun. What the heck was I gonna do to a 14 foot pi**ed off shark with a speargun?! I just wanted to be out of the water! But I also realized that I couldn't get out of the water fast enough without thrashing to avoid attracting that shark. So I just relaxed, let the speared fish sink to the bottom. The shark picked up the fish and swam away spear and all.

If any of you saw the latest Shark Week, this week on Discovery, you saw one of my dive buddies. Kent. He lost 80% of his calf to a bull shark in the Bahamas. The dramatization was factual and the wound was horrendous. The bull shark missed his artery by 1/8th of an inch. He really does get back into the water at Walker's Cay with 9 bull sharks 3 months later.

In nearly every attack or aggressive encounter, the diver manages to do something provocative to the shark. We are the strangers in this world. You should respect sharks but not necessarily fear them and try not to do the same stupid stuff I've done in my youth. Notice that in every one of my more serious encounters, I have been spearfishing, blood in the water or thrashing fish.

When I have seen sharks when I'm not spearfishing, they just keep on cruising.

Larry Stein

[SeaGypsy]

Here is an interesting site about shark encounters.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm

Most of the shark encounter stories I have heard involve spearfishing or using electrical things - scooters, lights, rebreathers.

[DivingDoc]

caymaniac once bubbled...
IAbout two feet away I used my camera as a buffer and made the strobe fire. When I did this it was like the shark woke up and spun around to get away. :D

Hmmm -- one of the Discovery Channel stories was told by an experienced underwater photographer. Early in his career, he was filming sharks and noticed one of them exhibiting some erratic behavior. He backed up against the coral and watched for a bit. Then he made a fatal decision -- he took a picture, firing his strobe. Immediately the shark made a beeline towards him and took out a good portion of the flesh of his arm.

It seems sharks are a bit unpredictable.

ET

[DivingDoc]

Dee once bubbled...


That probably happens more than shark attacks do! :D

If truth were known, the divers that got 'attacked' had probably ignored the sharks warning signals, antagonized the sharks in some way, or even placed themselves in harms way by seaching out the sharks and entising them.... a feeding frenzy comes to mind. Sharks don't usually just attack a diver for no reason. We aren't food to them.

If you are going to dive in an area frequented by sharks, learn their behaviors, feeding times and patterns, etc. and remember you are in their territory.

Oh dear! I really didn't mean to say "divers attacking divers," although I have sometimes worried I might be attacked by my buddy (husband). HeHe!:jester:

Seriously, Dee, what experience have you had with sharks, and, since you selected, "none of the above," what would you do if you were diving and saw an agitated shark heading right towards you?? Also what behaviors in a shark give you the signal that they are, well, not happy?

[Rick Murchison]

DivingDoc once bubbled...
what behaviors in a shark give you the signal that they are, well, not happy?
Jerky swimming, rapid reversals, arched back, lowered pectorals.
Any or all of those.
Rick

[Stone]

Rick Murchison once bubbled...

Jerky swimming, rapid reversals, arched back, lowered pectorals.
Any or all of those.
Rick

The rapid reversals can be truely rapid. A big bullshark may not look very flexible when he's swimming in a staight line, but I wouldn't be suprised if he could bite his own tail.

[Rick Murchison]

Stone once bubbled...


The rapid reversals can be truely rapid. A big bullshark may not look very flexible when he's swimming in a staight line, but I wouldn't be suprised if he could bite his own tail.
Twice.
In half a heartbeat.
I can guarantee it'll get your attention.
Rick

[Walter]

If a shark becomes aggressive, keep an eye on it as you swim underwater back to the boat. Present a confident image. Do not swim quickly, but instead remain calm and graceful. Do not swim with your hands, keep them to your sides or clasped in front of you. This is not the time to be flapping them around. If the shark gets too close, get back to back with your buddy. Growling will often cause the shark to leave. Take off your BC and hold your tank in front of you. If he comes in for a taste, let him bite metal. Exit the water quickly, dropping your BC if necessary. You can always fish it out with a boat hook.

[jbd]

UW videographers did an experiment with great white sharks(I think it was great whites). He got out of a cage after enticing a shark into view. Whe the shark would get too close he would charge the shark and it would dart off. He found he could keep two sharks at bay like this but had to give up when three sharks were involved. As I recall the sharks were quite curious(stalking or hunting) but not in a definite aggressive(or feeding) mode.

Very interesting to watch.

[Rick Murchison]

jbd once bubbled...
UW videographers did an experiment with great white sharks(I think it was great whites). He got out of a cage after enticing a shark into view. Whe the shark would get too close he would charge the shark and it would dart off. He found he could keep two sharks at bay like this but had to give up when three sharks were involved. As I recall the sharks were quite curious(stalking or hunting) but not in a definite aggressive(or feeding) mode.

Very interesting to watch.
This clearly falls into the "don't try this at home" category.
Rick

[jbd]

this this at home activity. The guy that did this experiment based it on observation of predatory animal behavior both on land and UW for a couple of decades. He observed the hunt, the final stalk and the attack behaviors of many animal species before coming up with the theory.

I wish I could remember the guys name.

[socaldiver]

for the predator that they are, keep an eye on their every move and be ready to repel with them with some kind of an object other than your body.

I would have to put the Mako in the aggressive category (along with the Great White, Bull and Tiger) just from my own experience. When we were diving off Catalina with a few blue sharks we were enjoying the dives while the blues were swimming around. Unfortunately a Mako showed up and was very aggressive. Our safety divers distracted them while the divers that were in the water at the time boarded the boat.

[DivingDoc]

[QUOTE]Laurence Stein DDS once bubbled...
[B]I would agree that for unpredicability, bull sharks are up there. However, there are probably more shark attacks by nurse sharks on divers. They are so docile that it is tempting to touch them. [QUOTE/]

Huh? I didn't know that nurse sharks even had teeth! I thought they just kind of sucked on things. They actually remind me of catfish with their little things in the front.

[QUOTE] If you've ever had a moray eel swim through your BC it's the same thing. You just stay real still and usually, nothing happens but a rush when it's over. [QUOTE/]

Eek! How do they get THROUGH your BC? Mine fits pretty closely.

[QUOTE]I've had several bull shark encounters. They are sneaky. They will come up from behind or they will hang at the edge of visibility until they are ready.[QUOTE/]

Not to belabour a point, but the Discovery Channel piece said that Bull sharks are so aggressive because they have higher levels of testosterone.

[QUOTE]My worst encounter was in Bimini. I ran into a 14 foot Great Hammerhead. It was nearly 3 feet from eye to eye. I was right next to the boat spearing fish. I handed the line to my buddy on the boat and he began to pull up the speared fish. The hammerhead started up too--in an aggressive posture. Needless to say, I started to pull the line down into the water to get the fish and shark away from me. My buddy on the boat wanted to know why I was pulling the line INTO the water. Try saying shark through a snorkel!

Then, my buddy offered me...ready for this...a speargun. What the heck was I gonna do to a 14 foot pi**ed off shark with a speargun?! [QUOTE/]

Believe it or not there are a number of Great Whites in Australia (where they are protected) who have been killed by spearfishermen in self-defence. How, I wondered, does one kill a Great White with a speargun!!!!?

[QUOTE]if any of you saw the latest Shark Week, this week on Discovery, you saw one of my dive buddies. Kent. He lost 80% of his calf to a bull shark in the Bahamas. The dramatization was factual and the wound was horrendous. The bull shark missed his artery by 1/8th of an inch. He really does get back into the water at Walker's Cay with 9 bull sharks 3 months later. [QUOTE\]

Yes, I did see that! Gaursh! You know someone famous -- have you gotten his autograph yet? Does he still dive?

I have generally been fairly impressed with the scientific nature of most Discovery Channel shows. Yea they have to hype it up a bit to get people to watch the shows, but the shows themselves present fairly accurate information.

ET

[DivingDoc]

Oops! I didn't get the syntax right in that last post. I hope you all can figure out where the quotes are and where they aren't.

[Walter]

Al Giddings produced a series of TV specials called Oceanquest back in 1985. It was while filming this special that he noticed how the Whites reacted to the tiny ROV. He decided to leave the cage to check his idea. Luckily for him the correct answer was to charge a White Shark.

[Laurence Stein DDS]

DivingDoc

Nurse sharks do indeed have teeth. Perhaps that is part of the problem. They seem so tame, you can lay next to them. Their mouth looks sort of like a ray's--its underneath and doesn't open wide. But there ARE teeth inside and they are razor sharp.

I've had moray eels that have appearantly been fed on wrecks actually come up to me--non aggressively, and literally swim through the shoulder openings of my BC and out the front. I didn't know what to do so I just stayed real still and it simply tickled. My heart was pounding. I was sitting on the deck of a wreck and the tank was partially supported so the shoulders opened up.

Don't know about the bull shark's testosterone. Mike Tyson, on the other hand....

The speargun and the hammerhead shark thing was as it happened. Retrospectively, I wish I had something to prod the shark with just in case. A speargun or a broomstick would have been as good.

We were once bothered by a lemon shark. It literally was swimmng between our legs. It wouldn't leave us alone. We kept butting it away. Finally, we moved the boat at least a mile and within a few minutes the shark was back. My buddy unscrewed the spearhead from the shaft so he wouldn't become attached to the shark. He shot it through the gills and it bled to death. We didn't want to hurt it but our safety was at stake. Yes, a spear could kill a big shark but you better pick the right spot.

Kent is really rather unassuming and my reference was not to brag, but rather, to have you all see the show. I think it's on this Sunday again. He has been very phisophical about it. He knows he was catching fish in the sharks back yard. The shark has no malice toward humans. It tasted blood and it's instincts took over. Kent is not "mad" at the shark nor does he think they should all be shot.

It took a lot of courage for him to stand in the water with the 9 bull sharks at Walker's Cay--he was trying to face his demons. I was with him when he made his first open water dive following the injury. He was visibly nervous but wanted to break the ice again...and he did. The healed wound on his leg is amazing. I don't know how he walks--barely limps.

Larry Stein

[Rick Murchison]

I've only seen Bulls get really threatening once without there being blood in the water. I describe that encounter in
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2333
Rick

[MissAmberDiva]

I was watching the Discovery Channel most gluttonous creatures this morning and the number 10 creature was tiger sharks. Well they were saying how the tiger shark is the garbage can of the sea and they listed some of the things that they have found inside of tiger sharks' stomachs. Well anyway, the most interesting thing that they showed was a pregnant female. They took a camera scope and put it inside her and they were showing her unborn babies. Well this one baby started eating his brothers and sisters. He ate them all. That was crazy to watch. They are little devils! Did anyone else see this program? It was pretty interesting.

Amber

[jbd]

from Rick prior to diving the ocean!! Dang Rick!! you had my spine tingling with that one and I'm home sitting at the computer 10 hours from the nearest saltwater!

[DivingDoc]

That is pretty scary story, Rick. I remember the news stories about the Pensecola boy. Last I heard, he had awoken from his coma, but the prognosis for brain function was still in doubt. Do you know if he survived -- with what level of functionality?

Is it possible that one of the bull sharks you saw was the one that later attacked the boy?

Another question: were you wearing a tank when you were spearfishing? I thought that was illegal. I thought all spearfishing was done using freediving. If you can stay down at 60' during that whole story and then make a leisurely ascent to the surface, you're an astounding freediver!

ET

[Rooster1]

sharks to be respected because of the potential damage they can do to you and as it has been said here they are unpredictable and dangerous. I would feel a little more secure with a spear gun in the holster just in case:D

[DivingDoc]

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/jessie.shtml

[Rick Murchison]

DivingDoc once bubbled...
That is pretty scary story, Rick. I remember the news stories about the Pensecola boy. Last I heard, he had awoken from his coma, but the prognosis for brain function was still in doubt. Do you know if he survived -- with what level of functionality?
The family has been very private since the boy went back to Mississippi. I do not know his condition or prognosis at this time.

Is it possible that one of the bull sharks you saw was the one that later attacked the boy?
No. Our encounter was two days after the Pensacola attack.

Another question: were you wearing a tank when you were spearfishing? I thought that was illegal. I thought all spearfishing was done using freediving. If you can stay down at 60' during that whole story and then make a leisurely ascent to the surface, you're an astounding freediver!
Spearfishing on Scuba is allowed in the States. We were on Scuba.
Rick

[DivingDoc]

I hit the wrong key on my computer and sent my last post before I was ready. The above URL is a update on Jesse Arbogast, the 8 yr old shark attack victim in Pensacola.

ET

[bknobel]

just act like a lawyer .nobody would want to taste them:lol:

[buff]

I'm more afraid of getting bit by a sly, hiding moray eel or having an air supply catastrophic failure.

I dove with sand tigers in North Carolina and now don't "fear" sharks.....I respect them but I don't fear them.

I took many, many photos from just 2 feet away. The sharks acted like the divers were just another big predator on the wreck.

[WreckWriter]

Sand Tigers are classified as a "harmless" species, regardless of their fearsome look.

I don't feel that sharks should be feared but I do think there's a big difference between most sharks and the "big three" (Whites, Tigers, Bulls)

Tom

[mndolphin]

I am with the one who said pee in my wetsuit ... and cry!!!

[Mouth Breather]

I read somewhere that soaking your wetsuit in an equal parts mixture of chicken blood, barbeque sauce, and meat tenderizer was a either a really bad idea or a good idea...I can't remember which.

I'm diving off the Sonoma Coast this weekend to test some new "double split gloves and fins". Just as split fins were patterned after the tails of whales, these new "double splits" look just like the fins on seals and sea lions...will let you know how it goes.

Mouth Breather:D

[Rockhound]

about sharks in general.

First, most shark attacks, even those well publicized recent ones from the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast are cases of mistaken identity. People are not part of the regular diet of these predatory animals. In fact, in most areas where seals are uncommon, we are simply too big for them to even consider.

In areas where sharks feed on seals and other big critters, surfers on boards are most often the ones hit. A surfer on a board silhouetted at the surface looks remarkably like a seal to a shark looking up. The common feeding pass for a large Tiger or a White in these circumstances is not a "bump", but a rapid vertical ascent right under the target animal. The shark never really sees what it hits and the surfer often never knows what hit him. Not much you could do about that, I would venture to guess.

In areas like the Gulf, it is usually small to medium sharks feeding nearshore in murky water that make the hits on people. That's why in these areas you often read of someone getting bitten, then released, losing some large but not fatally large, chunk of flesh.

In the case of what happened in Pensacola, this was a large shark, but not one big enough to consider a large child as a "normal" meal. It was a bite of opportunity, the shark, probably feeding on small fish in the murky water, got ahold of the boy and tasting blood, an then did not wish to let go. I don't think it was predatory behavior specfically directed at the child. When we are at the beach, I don't let my kids play in the surf when I can see large schools of fish being agitated by something feeding on them. While this usually means there are jacks feeding there, I wait until things calm down.

Unfortunately, Florida is a political state with a large population of people who believe in "regulatory lifestyles". If something bad happens, blame is usually assessed, rightly or wrongly and then, someone cries out, "there ought be a law".

After a couple of these well publicized incidents, the resulting action was a moronic ban on "shark dives".

Despite myths to the contrary, no shark attacks in Florida waters have been associated with shark dives. No shark dives occured anywhere at ANY TIME near where the attacks took place.

While it is concievable that shark behaviors, like those of HIGHER ORDER mammals like bears, are alterable by familiarity with humans, there has been no documentable associating of human attacks directly linked to these sorts of diving excursions.

What human behaviors HAVE been associated with attacks? Well, duh.....

Widespread shark "chumming" as practiced by Florida coastal fishing is one very likely culprit. In fact, at least two attacks I know of occured in areas where fishermen AT THAT TIME were actively engaged in drawing sharks over a large area using blood baits. Widespread chumming, unlike the more controlled feeds around "chumsicles" brings sharks into an aggressive feeding state over a large area. Add murky water to the mix, which shark dives obviously avoid, and you have a recipe for a shark attack. (chumsicles are not bloody concoctions designed to invoke a frenzy, but baits designed to bring the sharks to them in a more controlled fashion).

Did anyone cry out for a ban on shark fishing after the attacks? Heck no. Fishermen are more numerous and have greater political stroke than divers. Besides, fishermen kill sharks, not coddle them.

I have been diving for 25 years. During my early years I did a lot of spearfishing, and later, I made dives specficically to observe and photograph sharks. I have been in schools of hammerheads and silkies so thick they filled my liquid "sky". I have been approached by bull sharks and once, by a Tiger.

Not once have I felt that I was in imminent danger. Have I been nervous on occasion? Yes. I'm not an idiot. Schooling sharks are known to be a non-threat, but sharks are primitive animals --they respond to immediate stimuli and follow their own rules. I've watched silkies biting each other in an aggressive, but non-feeding behavior while they schooled around an offshore oil rig. I inadvertantly drifted into their school while taking photos and did not notice that they quit circling the rig we were on, but started circling me. I wasn't afraid, but I did think it odd and it seemed like a good idea for me to back to the relative safety of the rig. Was I likely to be attacked? I don't think so, but prudence was the better part of valor (jeesh. or something like that...)

While spearfishing once or twice I observed the "jerky hunch backed" stance of an aggressive shark and I worried that he would mistake me for lunch--or as a big fish that was competing for his lunch. But, I knew that such an attack was not predisposed, but likely the result of too much stimulation from what I was doing. I left my fish for the shark and left the water. No big deal.

Although some larger species, like the Great White, may "stalk" prey over the short term, most of these animals are opportunistic. They don't "plan" a hunt. They just hunt.

What would I do if a shark "bumped" me in a pass or directed aggressive behavior at me? That depends, I guess. Assuming that I would have some warning......If I was spearfishing, I'd distance myself from the stimulation. Let him have my fish.

If I was taking photos, I'd turn off my strobe (in case it was leaking a current..which is a stimulus) and I'd use it as a barrier. I would not "attack", but I would watch the animal as best I could. Lacking a camera, I might consider removing my BC/tank and using it as a barrier, as long as I was wearing enough weights to keep me under control if I were to lose my rig.

I wouldn't surface unless I was right under the boat or out of air, but I might slowly ascend to where I had more options. Even a few feet under water you have the ability to observe the shark more easily, maneuver for protection and to swim more smoothly than you would swimming at the surface.

Cavitation of water at the surface, jerky movements or thrashing would be things I would most avoid.


But....Sharks are the least of our worries. I love seeing them on a dive and always feel they add to the experience. On my last trip offshore Texas, I saw "spinners" for the first time up close. They were magnificant in their leaps from the water and were a testament to the idea that sharks are both graceful and agile creatures to be admired.

[CuriousMe]

Rockhound once bubbled...
about sharks in general.


In areas like the Gulf, it is usually small to medium sharks feeding nearshore in murky water that make the hits on people. That's why in these areas you often read of someone getting bitten, then released, losing some large but not fatally large, chunk of flesh.

In the case of what happened in Pensacola, this was a large shark, but not one big enough to consider a large child as a "normal" meal. It was a bite of opportunity, the shark, probably feeding on small fish in the murky water, got ahold of the boy and tasting blood, an then did not wish to let go. I don't think it was predatory behavior specfically directed at the child. When we are at the beach, I don't let my kids play in the surf when I can see large schools of fish being agitated by something feeding on them. While this usually means there are jacks feeding there, I wait until things calm down.



...I thought I had heard that the uncle who saved the kid, was actually shark fishing from the shore???? Like I said, don't know if it's true or not.

Peace,
Cathie

[Stone]

CuriousMe once bubbled...
...I thought I had heard that the uncle who saved the kid, was actually shark fishing from the shore???? Like I said, don't know if it's true or not.

[Rick Murchison]

CuriousMe once bubbled...
...I thought I had heard that the uncle who saved the kid, was actually shark fishing from the shore???? Like I said, don't know if it's true or not.
Peace,
Cathie
Totally, completely, absolutely false. A cruel hoax perpetrated by a real sicko a few days after this tragic event. It has been debunked by absolutely everyone who was there. But it just goes to show you that a lie will live forever.
If I could find the lowlife who started this cruel lie I would like to personally take *him* shark fishing... as bait!
Rick

[kyleterry]

I always though nurse Sharks were tame, so last month in Belize, when I saw a nurse, I gave my camera to my son 12 year old son and told him to get a picture of me beside the nurse. Bottom line is he bite me. That took me by surprise. I still dont not have full feeling and movement in my hand.

In the boat I wrapped up my hand and went back in and we ran into a reef shark.

Still love to dive, but I am a litter more cautious now.

It took three days for the bleeding to completely stop. I guess they do not like to stich bites. I guess that is very mild as shark bites go.

[SM Diver]

I only get concerned about sharks when I am descending through large schools of bait fish, which happens frequently. There is no way a shark would ever see me. A beracuda wouldn't be too cool either.

The only other time I think about sharks is while at the surface, with a stringer of fish clipped to my bcd. Basically, it's like sitting on a chum block. Honestly, I don't even think too much about the issue. If the man in the grey suit shows up, I guess I'll let him have the fish. If that doesn't satisfy him I'll tag him with both bands.

[Snoopy]

Hahaaahahhh,

I ususally tell this one.

Paint the big sticker around your tank labelled - " shark fin soup chef" . They should avoid you like mad.

But... they may seek revenage for the lost of the loved ones and attack.

I think I will flash a fake local bar-card to be safe.

My experience with the black tips in Sipadan Island. They will swim away once you are about 3 - 6 ft or so near them. Wonder how they can tell ? My BO or pee in the wetsuit ?

boydski once bubbled...
When diving in an area with a lot of sharks, carry a small briefcase with you. The sharks will leave you alone out of ."Professional courtesy" .

;)

Boydski

[dlwalke]

WreckWriter once bubbled...


I think that's based on number of attacks. Keep in mind that while whites are rare, tigers uncommon, bulls are downright thick. they're definately dangerous but the stats may be mostly due to how common they are. We saw 4 on one dive last week...

Tom

Yeah, to elaborate....
I think that at least part of the reputation of the bull shark has to do with the fact that they feed near shore, often in turbid water, during the same time of year that swimmers are likely to be out and about. They are in a position to make more mistakes than other sharks vis-a-vis biting people. Out in open water, I wonder how much more dangerous they really are for divers than any other mostly harmless shark.

[dlwalke]

I saw, I believe on the Discovery Channel, that the man-eating shark can be calmed by gently rubbing him or her on the nose.

Also, I have heard that it is better to swim in a vertical rather than horizontal orientation as you seem even less fish-like.

Finally, I wonder how big a bite a 6 or 7 ft shark would take. If I really felt as if I were in imminent danger, I would perhaps orient myself feet-first to the shark, perhaps with legs somewhat extended, so that the ensuing bite would mostly, hopefully, get my fins which I would try and rapidly de-extend just prior to being bitten.

But probably I would just pee my pants.

Dave

[dlwalke]

I have seen many great whites (reruns) that have been dispatched in the following manner. Place your scuba cylinder in the sharks mouth. Fortuneatley, for unknown reasons, they will continue to swim around with the cylinder in their mouth for some time. You can then find a rifle and shoot at the cylinder. In this way, the cylinder will explode taking the shark with it (Jaws I). Underwater, however, this would admittedly be difficult to pull off. Therefore I suggest the following method. Find an underwater electrical cable and place it in the creatures mouth. If the shark is truly aggressive, it will eventually bite through the cable and electrocute itself (Jaws II). I can assure you that the visuals from this will be quite stunning. So you see, there are many ways to deal with unruly sharks. You just have to be inventive.

[danw2002]

One answer you did not put that I would do…..

Descend slowly if you can, getting vertical, keeping your front to the oncoming shark at all times, watching it to see if it will try to get above or below you… and being ready to hit it away if you need to using a back of a knife, your light, camera housing, pony, or fist if nothing else, on the snout, or if you can in the eye or gill area, but most important to deflect the nose before the business end gets ya(the mouth). Only as a last resort would I even consider using a business end of my knife, which generally would just make things worse. This is not perfect, but if you are at the point that it is making a run on you( and your opening question makes it sound like that may be what is happening, an attack), and so you are maybe beyond looking at the shark for some signs of agitation, like sudden reversals, jerky swimming, arched back, and lowered pectoral fin, and thus you pulling back before things go to the next level and for whatever reason this has happened, this Is what I would do. Also keep in mind that this is mostly a what if type thing, as I don’t allow things like this to get to this point, and very readily will back out as soon as I note any thing like this could happen. Because as it has been pointed out in other posts, sharks, for the most part, really don’t care about us when we are down there, unless we are doing something that generally we should not be.

[Cherry]

I am a newdiver and as of yet have not seen a shark face to face underwater, however, when I was in the navy we were off Baja at anchor having a paint ship party. Everyone Capt. on down gets out and in one day we paint the entire ship from stem to stern with the exception of the sides. About 4 in aft we then bbq anything that we could find or seize as a sample from local fishing vessels. In northern climes ( in the days before political correctness over whelmed the Navy) samples of Abolone whould be taken for scientific purposes of course. I digress....my buddy and i were hanging by safety belts from the Guard rail stanchions amidships near the life boats on our DDE. ( destroyer escot) our feet were braced on the round downs and we were painting the davits of the life boat mechanism. all of a sudden my buddy screamed "SSSHARK SSSSHARK" ( Doug stuttered) and tried to jump over the guard rail back aboard the ship. now he would have been successful, however, his safety line stopped him in midair causing him to loose his footing and wind up dangling down the ships side screaming like a stuck pig "SSSSHARK HHHHELP SSSSHARK" a crowd soon gathered above looking down and laughing at Doug dangling 20 ft above the water in fear for his life. It turned out in a moment of day dreaming he had looked down at the water through his spread legs and seen a very large shark looking at him. He swore it was 20 ft long at least heheh things do look bigger in water. Poor guy for the next 2 weeks he was getting all kinds of model and toy sharks left on desks on radar sets in his locker under his pillow heheh was great fun

But as to sharks under water I expect they are just like bears in the woods. I treat bears with respect when I see them and in all honesty I want to see them each time I go out ...at a distance in safety...man nothing like a mature grizzly in the bush unless perhaps a shark underwater...

[BEM]

I've heard that sharks will move away from a source of bubbles. Does anyone know if you take your octopus and purge it, facing the shark, if the shark will retreat?

[Amanda]

I was snorkelling once in the Perhentian Isl (Malaysia), and I passed in a channel... well, kind of a channel. There was only room for one (or maybe one and a half) person between the coral potato that went up until the surface (therefore, no escape above it), and the reef (made of big rocks, no sand --> no escape that way.)

The corals on the channel were beautiful, so I was looking down when I suddenly saw something moving in front of me...

A 2 meters shark. It was a reef shark, all right, but I was really scared. It was so CLOSE to me I could touch it !!

I said to myself "Look, Amanda, you big girl, IT can't do a U-Turn in there, so YOU'RE gonna do it." And I did. I was sure I was gonna get my leg bitten or something, but everything went just fine.

But I just swam back to the beach as fast as I could ! :D

[Bacchus]

We just returned from 2 weeks in French Polynesia, where we were diving with sharks twice a day. There were white tips, black tips, lemons, silver tips, grays and just one hammerhead. The only problem I had was trying to keep them out of almost every photo I took. Many times they would swim right toward your mask only to make a 90 degree turn about 3 feet in front of you. Many times they would pass close enough for you to touch silver tip in Rangiroa (http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid42/p302562e14c227c515a7882d424033761/fceb9419.jpg)
From what I could tell, there was no reason to freak out. We obviously didn't do anything to harass them and they left us alone.

[o2 clean]

I haven't seen a shark while diving.... yet! I did see the tail end of one swim away, but not actually one up close.

I guess I will just hold on to my reg and just remember to breathe! ;)

[inletsurf]

I would say I see sharks about 60% of the 175+ dives a year I do. I've even seen a 10 ft bull pass under my feet while waiting for a boat pickup with 40 lbs of fish on a stringer and a bag full of lobster. He didn't stop, kept on going. I have never experienced yet a truly, truly aggressive no-win incident with a shark yet WHILE DIVING.

For the record, I've been bitten by a good sized shark, not while diving. I'll have to say, if I had my usual tools in spearfishing with me, and I come across a no-win situation...a shark is going to die. Sorry, but I'm speaking from the 'been there...done that' club and have permanent damage in my ankle. I'm sure every single one of you on this forum would consider the business end of your knife if the situation were that serious. The nose and gills are the sweet spots. However, luckily for us, most all experiences w/ sharks are just curious encounters.

[Amber]

Most sharks that start to swim towards someone for the first time are not aiming at biting. They rub their nose (highly sensitive) up against the person to get a "taste". It's their curiosity most of the time that makes them do this. I've learned that when they approace to do this, tap them on the nose in a definate matter. I'm not talking about going Ali on them and slamming them in the nose, just a tap to send them the message that you are not food. This will make them turn around and swim away.
Now while this works most of the time....it doesn't always work. In the event that a shark goes in for the bite..or god forbid...has ahold of you, if at all possible it is advised to take your thumb (as it is the strongest finger) and ram it as hard as possible into it's eye. Sharks are extremly protective of their eyes. That's why when they attack, their eyes roll back.

[Amber]

My mom lives in Sarasota so I am down there a lot. Durring tarpon season...there is an INSANE ammount of hammer heads. I know it sounds crazy...and I might not ever have the gall to do it...but I would love to be under one of those massive schools of hammer heads with an underwater video camera.:mean:

[Christian]

After some 200+ shark encounters with various spieces, I have never felt threatned by sharks. Encounters that have been a bit more "exciting" than others have been with open water spieces like silkys and oceanic whitetips. Especially when snorkeling - you feel a bit more vurnurable when you're on the surface with no bottom in sight and someone is yelling from the boat - HE'S BEHIND YOU! :-) But I have still to meet a tiger or a White Shark. But if I felt seriously threatened, I would try to get out of the area (read further down why sharks get aggressive) and out of the water, keeping an eye on the shark and my back towards the reef if possible.

However, the strangest behaving shark I have met, which also was a bit aggressive, was a scalloped hammerhead, a female. I have been diving with scalloped hammerheads many times, schooling ones as well as smaller groups of animals. Usually they are very timid and shy away, keeping their distance. This was in the sudanese Red Sea of the south west point of Sanganeb Atoll near Port Sudan. We had spent a few days of diving this place and a school of 30-40 specimen were present on most dives. On this particular dive, me and my girfriend went out to the point were the reef drops off into the abyss. The school was deeper down on the the edge of the viz.-range. One female shark however brakes away from the school and starts to swim straight at us. I had my camera ready and thought GREAT! since good hammerhead pictures are very hard to get. Unfortunatelly the shark picks my girlfriend instead of me, so I didn't come as close as she did. This lady swims rapidly and erratic, not the gentle movements which one usually connects with the hammerheads. Allthough I didn's see it, my girlfriend claims she had to kick the shark in the head before it went back to the school (I guess i was busy with the camera).

I have one picturure of the shark with my girlfriend in the background (on the right almost in the bottom), also some other sharkie and dive pics here:

http://www.dykarna.nu/photoAlbum/album.asp?userId=4389&albumId=1112

Also, I would like to say a few words about the mistaken identity theory. This theory is based upon that the attack have to do with feeding. The majority of attacks (which are quite few each year when you realise how many people entering the water) doesn't have anything to do with feeding. When a dog attacks a man, it is not because it want's to eat him. Same with sharks. It seems more likely that it is territorial defence, a curious sharks (a shark examine by tasting) or maybe many times, like stated in this thread by Rick and Vicky and some others, herrassed or fired up (by bait) sharks. Taking into account that sharks have highly evolved senses, smelling and also vision, it just doesn't make sense they would mistake a human for a seal or a fish.

Cheers

Christian

[Ruu]

I've had one, possibly interesting, shark encounter (many shark encounters, but only one bothered me particularly) a couple of years ago. I was doing my nav dive for AOW at a site regularly frequented by some large(ish) reef sharks. This required me to separate from the main dive party (maybe ten of us) for several minutes. As I separated from the group, two of the reef sharks started taking a real interest, and they circled me on the edge of my visibility (maybe 15m if memory serves) while I was on my own. My only thought on this was the "wounded animal" (me) had left the main shoal, and might be worthy of a quick bite, which seems to disagree with the "divers aren't food" theory. I've worked it into my main unified "peeing in wetsuit followed by rapid completion of nav dive" theory, but not much else.

Thoughts?

Dave

[Christian]

Dear Ruu

To me it's pretty clear. Sharks are curious animals, but also careful animals. Probably they stayed at a distance while you were in a large group of divers, because all the commotion was to frightening. When you swam away from the group, they dared to come closer for a better look. Don't think it had anything to do with the "getting an easy meal by attacking the wounded animal leaving the herd-theory". If those sharks really wanted to consume you, you wouldn't be here posting on scubaboard.com.

So what can we learn from this? If you want to see sharks, don't dive in big groups.

Cheers

Christian

[finstotheleft]

I'm glad the "shark etiquette" topic came up...

I'm taking a trip in June to Morehead City, North Carolina. We're supposed to be diving to a wreck called the "Papoose". Sand tiger sharks supposedly frequent the area.

Anyone had any experience with sand tigers? Even better, has anyone ever been on this dive?

[TigerShark]

I will probably whip out a fake shark's fin as a warning to the shark!!!

Hope he gets the idea though.......:bonk:

[Mac Gyver]

I just recently went on my first shark feeding dive in the Bahamas. I've seen the occasional shark on previous dives .... mostly nurse sharks.... bu nothing like this. As soon as the boat anchored , the water was immediatly full of carribian reef sharks. About 15 sharks ranging from 5 feet to about 8 feet in length. I was at the back of the boat with my buddy so we were the first in line to enter the water. Now I had been dying to do a shark dive ever since I got certified, but I was a little nervous. Especially when the divemaster told us to go ahead and jump in and descend to the bottom. We literally had to wait until there was a clear area behind the boat in order to enter. Once in the water all of my nervousness was replaced with amazement. The sharks swam with us most of the first dive along a wall until we droped over the edge, and all the way back to the boat. Several times they would swim close enough that I could reach out and touch them. There were times when I felt like "one of the pack".

On the second dive we kneeled in a circle on a sandy spot and watched the divemaster feed them. By this time there were over 30 sharks swiming in and out of the "arena" , many times brushing up against you or giving you an inadvertant whack of their tail. It was the most amazing thing I have ever done and at no time was I scared or felt like I was in any danger. Now if it was 30 Bull sharks I might have also peed my wetsuit! Outside of that....I would highly recomend it if you've never done it.

[NurseShark]

Thanks everyone who has posted with their experiences. My husband and I got to see a couple of sharks when we dove at Molikini Crater in Maui - some 4-5 foot grey reef sharks and a couple of smaller black tips. They were very "skitish" and if you moved too quickly they would disapear in a second. As others have stated, I didn't feel threatened, just awed!

Mac Gyver, your shark dive experience sounds amazing - it is definately on my list of dives I want to do!

Christian, your photos are amazing! I am green with envy about your encounter with a whale shark - the pics look like you got quite close!

[Christian]

Thank you nurse shark for your kind words,

and yes, the whale shark was very close, maybe 0.5 meters (2 feet?) for the closest picture (was using a wide angle lens). I could easily have touched it if I wanted to. But actually some of the grey reef sharks were even closer, app. 0.3 meters (1 ft). It is difficult to see, but the snout of the shark in one of the pictures is actually slightly out of focus because the wide angle lens I used for that one can't focus closer than 30 centimeters (12 inches?).

/christian

[ibnygator]

If you anchor near the shark dive site just after they do the feeding. We've done this several times in the Bahamas in groups as large as 7 or 8 divers and have been surrounded by as many as 8 to 10 reef sharks. They came very close (within 4 or 5 feet) and did not seem deterred by our large numbers.

:shark:

[annie]

During my very first dive out on Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia I came across a fair sized tiger. I was diving with two German zoologists, vis wasn't great, I looked over to the right and some metres away I saw a big shape with a cloud of juvenile golden trevally at one end, and some stripes further down.

We looked, it glided off in front of and away from us in the direction of the boat, and what did the Germans do but chased it as fast as they could to get pics!
When they came back, we continued the dive in the other direction as it obviously wasn't at all interested in us, but when we were going back toward the boat I felt quite uneasy. Didn't see it again though.
I wish I could remember its size but I can't really.

[ingreevox]

IF A SHARK IS BOTHERING YOU, SLAP IT ON THE NOSE. iF IT PERSISTS...POKE IT IN THE EYE WITH YOUR STUMP....LOL!

AND REMEMBER, AN AIRPLANES SEAT CUSHION CAME BE USED AS A FLOATATION DEVICE. AND ONCE YOUR IN THE WATER...ITS A BOBBER!

LOL!
:mean: :D

[PhotoTJ]

I offer this for those of you who are worried.

In the year 2000, 15 people were killed by sharks.

150 people were killed by coconuts hitting them in the head.

You are 10 times as likely to be 'Gilligan's Island-ed' to death on the beach, as you are to be 'Jaws-ed' in the water.


Don't sweat the sharks.

[docmartin]

i agree with christian. this mistaken identity theory is somewhat questionable and i read that some scientists have begun to disount it. after all, sharks have a highly developed sensory system that goes well beyond eye sight. even if one believed in these mistaken identity cases, they would only seem to make sense for large sharks such as great whites and tigers in areas with seals where a surfer/snorkler on the surface may be mistaken for a seal or sea lion. even then, a diver looks, sounds, moves, or smells nothing like a seal (thank god as far as the smell is concerned).
it also seems incredible that a bull shark -even in murky water- would mistake someone or his appendages for its usual prey. after all they are after fish that are much smaller than people. hunting like this is what they have been doing for a living for millions of years. and they seek the murky water because it gives them an advantage. their sensory system has been designed for this environment.
i believe the dog parallel is more probable. they may feel provoked, agitated, scared, territorial or even see you as a competitor on a hunt. some researchers are now theorizing that some great white attacks may just be practice. who knows, since the darned things don't answer when asked.
in any event, i love diving with sharks. all kinds and sizes. i have snorkeled with bulls and it was thrilling. took my flashlight along to have something hard to bump them on the nose and it came in handy with one of the fellows. but i don't think it wanted to eat me. it was approaching very slowly. just came a little close for comfort. all it took was a gentle tap. i admit they can be a little creepy because they also like to circle at the edge of visibility and often will reappear from behind. having a buddy who can watch your back when they get too curious is always a good idea.
by the way, in march i went to protea banks in south africa which is considered by many as the prime spot for large bulls. the stretch of coast south of durban usually has netted beaches because it has seen its share of attacks on bathers. however, according to the locals no one has ever heard of a bull shark attack on a diver.
dive on and leave the beach to the bait.

[Al Mialkovsky]

I suspect a charging shark would cause me to deficate into my 7 mil. That's my choice.

[juggernutt]

Guys,

Dived a couple of times...visited a coupel of "sharkpoints" one of the most common name I think.

I saw a shark once...it was in the afternoon so this white was asleep. We kinda scared it away...

Anyway just wanting to say that I dont dare read this thread...would scare from diving ever again!!

but still..any interesting/usefull info on diving in the Tropics? Bali, Redsea etc.
Going to Bali this summer..I guess there's not a lot sharks there?(Sharkfin fishing)

Anyway my dream is one day to go to South Africa and cage dive with a White shark there.(Me inside,Great white outside) i heard that this was possible.
Anyone done this before?
Still I always see myself falling OUTSIDE the cage when I try to enter it...or my fat ass opens teh cage door by mistake letting the big beast enter.




=-)

[NetDoc]

that sharks display any etiquette whatsoever! You might need a tourniquette afterwards, but thats another story! :tease:

[zeN||]

What a bunch of malarkey. If a dangerous species starts swimming in an aggresive manner, bumping me, circling me close with no apparent intention of moving off he's getting a powerhead right behind the gills, it really 'aint scuba disney down here, besides, worms need to eat zeN

[SM Diver]

Hunting rock piles north of Tampa and had a heavy stringer of fish going. Was buzzed and circled by a very large Hammerhead, who stayed with me almost until the surface. I wussed out and dropped the stringer ( a little peace offering). I'll protect my stringer from bulls, duskys and blacktips. A 12 - 15 ft Hammerhead will get it everytime.

For full story: http://www.spearboard.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=3504

[Otter]

TigerShark once bubbled...
I will probably whip out a fake shark's fin as a warning to the shark!!!

Hope he gets the idea though.......:bonk:

But what if the fake shark fin looked like it came off of one of his missing relatives? {best Jimmy Cagney immitation } "You killed my brother....."

Craig

[Shanghai Manta]

Juggernaut,

I will be in Bali next week and my wife and I plan to make numerous dives - I'll write a Trip Report when I return but I've researched a lot and you can expect / hope to see:

Mola Mola, Manta, Tuna, Eagle Rays, Turtles, Bumpheads, Barracuda, Trevally, White Tips, Black Tips, Hammerheads, Thresher Sharks and other Requiem sharks. I believe sharks are very common and you should see some on most dives. And that is to say noting of the world famous macro !

Check out this link for a good review of Bali's sites http://www.aquamarinediving.com/

Great sites off Nusa Penida but ripping unreliable currents (down & out and can often be over 3 knots) so not for beginners.

Although Bali is most famous for the incredible variety of life and it's stunning macro, plus the 120m wreck at Tulamben that starts at 3m down to 28 m !

Oh and I forgot the black sand that makes a great backdrop for good photos.
Dee - I won't have to worry about the aperture for the backdrop so much :D

Have a great trip !
Kevin
:shark:

[scottsthillier]

Why is there no discussion of a powerhead or bangstick? I know about the safety issues which are monumental, but is no one carrying?:confused:

[zeN||]

What would I do if a shark (large dangerous) was swimming around me in attack mode- I would powerhead it since I usually spearfish and carry one, contrary to some gossip a .357 or better ph will knock a big one down with a direct hit, why wait till you are hit, because once he makes the attack they are so fast even with a weapon you don't have time to attack, or they move out of the way of the spear.
Lastly from studying these dinosaurs I believe they sense when you are afraid (prob smell adrenaline) and are stimulated to attack, so be calm and control your emotions ~Z

[SuPrBuGmAn]

DivingDoc once bubbled...


I think it was a Bull Shark that took the arm off the little boy in Pensicola, FL last summer
ET

Also took the arm of my old assis. High School Principle the year before that. :) He was swimming early morning near some pilings of an old pier that one of the past hurricanes tumbled into the water. He holds no grudge and kept a shark pendant on his nub cast while he had it. He also made it onto Oprah :rolleyes:

I know its an old reply, but I had to comment...

Bulls are everywhere down here, planes and helicopters spot them near swimmers all the time. They are just getting some bad media coverage lately(last few years). They've been here longer than we have. Not to say that they aren't more aggressive than other species. There are other sharks in the area that I have never heard of attacking, whether it be intentional or not. I just believe that the Bulls really aren't going out of their way to make human appendages part of their regular diet.